You can’t do astrophotography without a camera! In fact, we usually need two cameras: an imaging camera and a guide camera. So here we pause from hands-on photography to consider some camera related aspects—fields of view, matching camera to telescope and resolution. We will also touch on the various pros and cons of a DSLR vs a cooled monochrome astronomical camera vs a one-shot colour astronomical camera. However, at this stage there is no harm in continuing with a DSLR for your imaging camera rather than plunging into an expensive purchase.

Objective: understand the various cameras you will need for astroimagingMotivation: what you need to know about cameras and how to make a choiceCovers:• imaging camera• guide camera• why you want/don’t want a dedicated astroimaging camera• matching camera and telescope• field of view considerations• focal length considerations• colour or mono• software for image acquisition e.g. Sequence Generator Pro, MaximDL, Astroart.